Sexpo 20161:12

A Brisbane school bus ad from 2015. Picture: Change.orgSource:Supplied

BRISBANE kids will soon be exposed to ads promoting strippers, nudity and online sex shows on their school buses and billboards outside school gates, according to concerned parents.

The ads for popular adult entertainment exhibition Sexpo, which is headed to Brisbane in August, are slated to roll out around the city, including on public buses, despite uproar over similar ads in Brisbane in 2015 and Sydney in 2014.

A Change.org petition, started by Brisbane mother Angela Burrows, calling on Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to “stop ‘sex’ advertising on my kid’s school bus’” has attracted more than 2000 signatures.

But a spokesman for Sexpo said the 2017 Brisbane bus ad campaign had not yet commenced. The Change.org campaign features images of ads from 2015, and Sexpo says the “creative, copy, look and feel is significantly different” for this year’s ads.

Ms Burrows’ petition said as a “mum of three young kids who regularly use public transport for school and sporting activities”, she was “appalled” to hear Sexpo was advertising on public buses.

“I’m in touch with a bunch of other concerned mums who’ve seen similar ads on billboards right outside school gates,” she writes. “We have kids in primary school for goodness sake — we don’t want ads and links to watch ‘live sex’ forced on them!”

The headline sponsor of Sexpo is porn website MyFreeCams.com, which features live sex shows usually by amateur models or “camgirls”.

But according to the Sexpo spokesman, while MyFreeCams.com was the primary sponsor, unlike in previous years, the website name and logo would not be appearing on the creative this year.

“Despite the federal government recommending that public transport not feature advertisements of this nature, nothing has changed in practice — it’s up to the state governments to act, but they’re ignoring their responsibility,” Ms Burrows writes.

“The QLD Premier says she’s serious about child protection and sexual violence — so let’s urge her to crack down on this inappropriate and over-sexualised advertising!”

He said the ads and collateral were “not overtly sexual in any way and do not contain any graphic content”. “They simply highlight the event name, the dates of the event and some key show attractions,” he said.

“As part of every pre-event marketing campaign, Sexpo sources and secures advertising opportunities within the host city, which includes television, radio, print, billboards and buses amongst other channels.

“It is part of our policy that at all times Sexpo ensures it is operating within the legal guidelines as dictated by the relevant state and federal laws, as well as guidelines as determined by the relevant advertising mediums from which Sexpo purchases advertising space.”

The spokesman said Sexpo had “grown to become an Australian household name and an event that encompasses not only sexuality, but also has a core focus on health and lifestyle”.

“Sexpo acts as both an entertaining and educational event for adults with a number of health based workshops and seminars on offer for attendees, as well as amusements and costume events within a community that encourages acceptance,” he said.

Ads for the adult consumer expo, which has been running since 1996, are frequently the subject of complaints to the industry regulator, the Advertising Standards Board, and often draw the ire of parents and Christian groups.

But in 21 years, Sexpo has only had two complaints upheld against it — a billboard ad and a bus ad, both from 2010. A spokeswoman for the ASB said it was “not within the ASB’s remit to decide what products are legally able to be advertised — this is an area for government”.

“The Advertising Standards Board is only able to consider the content of each individual advertisement to determine if it breaches any section of the advertising codes and initiatives,” she said.

According to the board, in advertising for adult venues or products, “it is reasonable for the advertiser to use images of scantily clad women, as long as there are no exposed nipples or genitals, and poses are not strongly sexualised”.

In 2010, a billboard advertising Brisbane Sexpo featuring a man on a motorbike and a woman on her knees was the fourth most complained about ad for the year, receiving 75 complaints, all of which were dismissed.

“While there is significant community concern about advertising sex products and services, advertisers are legally able to advertise these [products], and where the level of sex, sexuality and nudity used is not inappropriate for the audience the board will dismiss the complaint,” the ASB says.

The advertising industry in Australia is self-regulated, meaning even if the ASB upholds a complaint, it must be pulled by the advertiser voluntarily.

Lobby group Collective Shout has called for the federal government to introduce legislation preventing sex industry services being advertised in public, including on public transport and billboards.

“Australia is falling behind the rest of the world with France, Israel, Denmark, Iceland, Belgium and Norway already introducing strong legislation against this form of advertising,” the group says.

News.com.au has contacted the Queensland Department of Transport for comment.